Bill Matthews has spent the winters of the past decade making sure the ice skating rink at Ice on the Landing in Chattanooga has some of the best ice on a seasonal rink in the country.
Matthews, of Lookout Mountain, Georgia, has been ice skating since he learned how to drive.
When he heard that Carla Pritchard, owner of Chattanooga Presents, was planning to open a seasonal rink in town, he made sure to get connected. Matthews, 71, has been lead ice technician for Ice on the Landing, the ice skating rink at First Horizon Pavilion from late November to early February, since its first season in 2014.
“I worked for years trying to get ice in Chattanooga,” Matthews said in an interview. “I just never got anywhere with it. So, she (Pritchard) was willing to commit to it, and we started out with a 50′-by-70′ rink down on the river.”
The first rink could be resurfaced by a golf cart with a blade attached. The current rink, five times the size of the original, requires a Zamboni — a professional ice resurfacing machine.